21 Days
by Writer-Jane
Summary: I am Grace Barnett and after I relocated to Washington I only wanted peace and quiet. After 3 years of laying low and living my life I found my self caught in a whirl wind of feelings. Can I sort out what's going on in my heart?
1. The Interview

**Chapter 1**:

I sat at my computer feverishly typing as the sound of rain drops tapped on the office window. I hated to say that the soggy, very mild summers here had grown on me, but I guess in some way they had.

I moved here 3 years ago to get away from a bad situation. Like a ghost in the night I packed whatever I could and just left. After a couple of days in the car I settled on this little town in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. I found work in a rehabilitation and long term care facility soon after I settled in and started on the hall as a nurse's assitant. After a few short months I found myself in the Activities department; I loved it! I can honestly say I work with my best friends the closest of which started out as a mortal enemy, oddly enough. I ticked away as the door to the office opened and a brunette with long lush curls walked in. The door slammed shut just as I turned to look at her.

"This day has to end soon or I'm gonna throat punch someone." she growled as she slammed her clip board down.

"Afternoon activity didn't go too well?" I smiled as I turned back to the computer screen to put the finishing touches on my care plan.

"I swear, if I get smarted off too one more time by that bossy nurse I am going to go postal!" She vented as she unceremoniously plopped down in her chair and turned on her work light. I heard her stomache rumble from across the room.

"Listen, Deni, let me go and get this interview for Shelly. Then why don't we blow this popsicle stand and take lunch." My friend clapped excitedly and swivelled in her chair. I turned to grab all the nessicary paperwork and a pencil. All of the sudden Deni squealed,

"Why are you still in here?! Lets go! Move it, Buttercup," she cried, "We are gonna get Chinese, by the way you little, hoe. What do want? I'll go ahead and order it."

"The usual," I answered rolling my eyes. I grabbed my clip board and stood up from my office chair, " Oh! but with a little extra sauce on the side."

"Ok, got it, see you in a few minutes!" Deni said shooing me out the door. I laughed a bit and left the office. She was a mess but it was never a dull moment with her. I closed the door and walked a few feet down the hall. In the distance you could hear a call light going off and barrels rolling and clacking. In that moment I did not miss those crazy nights of endless mayhem. I stopped abruptly infront of a large wooden door and looked at the face page, _William J. Black._ Then I checked the name plate on the door. It was the right place alright. I cleared my thoat and knocked. I heard some commotion and a muffled 'come in'. I slowly opened the door and put on my best "work" smile.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Black! I am Grace Barnett from Activities." I chirped as I walked briskly to the bed and shook the hand he offered me.

"Call me Billy, Mr. Black was my father," he joked his lips pulled into nice white smile. I relaxed a bit knowing that this interview was going to be pleasant and easy.

"Whatever you want Billy." I replied turning to the others in the room. My anxiety ampt back up again, as I gazed at the. two large, handsome muscular men. Billy turned to the corner of the room and gestured to the Greek Gods infront of me.

"You hear that boys. She knows how to treat an old man," he half heartedly taunted. I couldn't believe at how big these "boys" were. I just stood there with that stupid grin on my face as they came toward me to introduce themselves.

"Grace, these are some of the boys from the Quiluette reservation," Billy stated as he motioned to the two Adonises in front of me. They looked so similar with the same hair cut and russett skin, stacked bodies However one was just shorter than the other which wasnt saying much because they both had to be over six foot tall. The one to the left smiled big and leaned forward,

"Hi, I'm Sam Uley." I took his extended hand and felt the heat radiating off of him. It didnt feel natural to me, it was like he was feverish. He quickly let go and Sam stood back up to his original height.

"Its nice to meet you, Sam." I politely chimed. He motioned to the guy beside him,

"This is Paul Lahote." Paul didnt extend his hand like the other two. I looked up at his scowling face and met his eyes. I felt heat rise up in my cheeks and a slow burn start in my stomach. His eyes were the most beautiful light brown color I had ever seen. I watched as his face changed his too. His thick black brows relaxed as we locked eyes. Paul looked at me with such intensity I thought I would burn alive. I could all most feel a pull. I needed to be near, Paul. It seemed like an eturnity before anyone said anything to us.

"Miss Grace,... Miss Grace." Billy called to me. I reluctantly pulled away from Paul's smoldering stare. Billy politely smiled as I stammered my apologies.

"Its alright," Sam joked, "we know we can be a bit distracting. We can go out if you need us too."

"No!" I almost shouted. They gave me a weird look, "I mean I dont want to run off any visitors. If its okay with Billy you can stay I promise I wont take long." I knew my face had to be the color of a tomato, but they all humored me. Billy agreed to let them stay and we spend the next 45 minutes talking and laughing. Paul had even piped up a few times making fun of Sam. I could feel his eyes on me the whole time as I wrote and prodded Billy for answers.

"Ok, Billy," I prompted, "last question. Is your goal to return home or become long term?"

Billy joking stratched his head,

"I guess I'll go home if these knuckle heads treat me right." I giggled and started to gather my things.

"It sounds like there are a lot of interesting things to do at the reservation," I commented as I stood up from the foot of Billy's bed, "I might have to visit sometime." I noticed by this time that Paul had took out his phone and was scrolling and typing.

"Well you should. In a few weeks we are going to have a cook out and bon fire," Billy said as he took a drink of water, "I am personally inviting you to come."

"Sure! Sounds great. I guess we can talk more about it when it gets closer." I answered excitedly. As I turned to head to the door I bumped into something solid. I knew there couldnt be a wall there so I looked up only to be met with a familiar black shirt.

"Oh, man, sorry. I was just going to open the door for you since I was right there." My heart pounded in my chest as the rumble of Paul's timbered voice rolled through me like a wave.

"Its okay," I choked out, "I should have been watching where I was going." I felt my body ache, wanting with everything in me to just reach out and bury my self in his torso. He smelled so good, sweet and earthy. What was wrong with me? I had never done this before, felt these strange feelings. I blushed a bit as I caught myself oogling him. I quickly said good bye and left. When I made it to the office I shut the door behind me and slid down to the floor. Deni, who was waiting with our purses, started to burrate me on taking so long but stopped half way through,

"Grace are you okay? You're all red," I drug myself up from the floor. "I just met the most beautiful man in my life and I acted like an idiot!" In the quiet pause there was a sudden knock at the door. I turned and opened it. Paul had a lopsided grin on his face holding out a piece of paper.

"You dropped this." he said in a husky voice that almost made me melt. I took the paper from his hand and stuffed it on my desk just right beside me.

"Thank you," I managed to squeak out. He looked me over like a predator looks at his prey. I knew He could see how flawed I was. Too short, too curvy, not at all the type of girl I pictured him with. His smile grew bigger almost like he could read my thoughts.

"Grace, I know we just met but, I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee sometime? Here is my number just text me your number and we can talk tonight if thats okay?"

My mouth was so dry, but I managed a "sure" and, what I hoped was, an appealing smile.

"I'll talk to you later gorgeous," he smirked as he shut the door. After a moment of silence all I heard was Deni,

"Hot damn, can I have one?"


	2. Chapter: 2 The Call

I was cooking supper and impatiently staring at my phone willing it to ring. My mood began to sour as the time went on. I started to feel stupid for waiting for some random guy to call. I mean he was probably out with some other girl that looked like a model, not a short frumpy elf. I sighed heavy and turned off the stove I pulled the pot off the eye and set it on a pot holder to the side. I set the table for one and turned on the small TV on the counter. I dug into my chili and zoned out, the TV provided the back ground noise. The hum began to lull me to sleep. I took a few more bites before I gave up. However, somewhere between the news and the commerical for an all in one slicer my phone came to life. I quickly grabbed the phone and tried to swallow the food I had in my mouth before I slid my finger across the screen.

"Hello?" I asked as my heart pounded out of my chest.

"Hey, its Paul," the deep voice rumbled, "I'm sorry, it took so long to call I had some things I had to do around the rez." His voice sounded so good to my ears.

"Its okay," I answered, "I was just finishing dinner."

"Oh yeah? What did you have?" he asked making polite converstaion with me.

"I made some chili," I gushed. "homemade." I heard the hum of his approval. "What is your favorite food?" I asked.

The next few hours were like this asking and answering questions like What is you favorite type of music, sport, color? We laughed until my sides hurt. Time flew by so fast. I just happened to glance at the clock on the wall and I frowned.

"Paul, its 2:00 am. I have to go to bed, as much as I hate too," I sighed. I could feel the disappointment through the phone. We sat in silence both of us with unsaid words on our lips. I knew what we both wanted to say "it" but I knew it would never come out.

"Gracie," he hesitated, "Can I come and see you? Maybe, Wednesday during your lunch?"

Excitment welled up in me, he wanted to really see me again.

"I would love you, too. We can have that coffe date. I know a great cafe. My lunch is at 11:00. Does that work for you?" I rambled. He laughed his deep sexy laugh.

" Slow down Speedy Gonzalas, That will work out great for me. I can't wait to see your beautiful face, again," He stated "Two days is too long."

A sudden sense of fear crept up in my throat, "You have only seen the work me. What if you dont find the regular me not as perfect?" I blurted out. Paul sat quietly on the other end of the line. My nerves came back full force at this point. I felt like a fraud. I could not wrap my head around the fact that a guy like Paul was interested in a girl like me.

"You are right," he stated flatly, "I dont know you. I do know that these last 6 hours on the phone have be nice. I don't talk to girls. I am ashamed to admit I am a love'em and leave'em type guy. But I dont want to be that guy with you. I want you the way you are however that is."

His works resenated through me and it was my turn to be stunned. It was a very powerful admission. If we were in an old movie, face to face, this would have been the part where the guy scoops up the girl and pulls her into an unbelieveable kiss. I heard his throat clear on the other end however,

"Um, Gracie. I didn't scare you off did I?" he asked sounding unsure of himself.

"No, no, I'm here. I just want you to know that I really like you, Paul. This is different for me too. I can't explain it. If I'm honest its almost supernatural. I've known you for twelve hours and since then you consume my thoughts. I agree though, at this point two days seems like an eturnity." I confessed. It was now half past two and I needed to go to bed but didn't want to hang up. I was afraid if I let go he would fall through my fingers like sand.

"Go, get some sleep, Gracie. You have to entertain thoes old folks tomorrow and you can referee Boca Ball if you are sleep deprived," he teased, "I am going to call you tomorrow evening if that's okay?" I smiled to myself at his tender tone.

"Its call Bocce Ball, you uncultured swine and I cant wait to tell you all about it" I answered, "Just don't be too much of a whore tomorrow. I'm gonna need you to save your strength."

I heard Paul smirk, "Don't worry about me, baby. You have no idea what I'm capable of." A shiver ran down my spine. His voice became deeper and sounded like velvet. I swooned a bit and before I could catch myself my mouth opened.

"Maybe I want to find out. Good- night, Lahote," my voice sounded husky and wanton, but I didn't care. I hung up before he answered back. I imagined him on the other end of the phone dumb struck staring at his phone. I when to bed a smile plastered on my face as I walked in a daze. I didn't get much sleep that night and what little I had were filled with dreams of Paul. I could not escape the intense feelings I was having over this man. I knew it would be too good to be true, but for a while I was going to reville in this new relationship I was having. I reasoned that finally dating someone was good for me. It would help me move on from the trauma and terror of my past. Or at least I hoped so.


	3. Chapter 3: Margarita Monday

The next day I rose up like the dead and crawled into work. I was met with suspicious stares from my co-workers as I threw my things on my desk and sat in the chair.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Mandy teased. I flipped off the whole group who proceeded to laugh histerically. I knew that Deni had told them all about my man friend. I glared at her as she pretended to not look my way.

"Finally, proof you're human," Shelly joked, "Only down side is he could have been mine if we hadn't of switched." She put on a fake pout as if she was wounded.

"Har, Har, just because I'm not running around like a horny teenager doesn't mean I'm not human," I retorted. The office door opened and in walked a tall skinny, older woman with wild hair.

"Okay girls today's assignments are as follows. Grace and Mandy, you are going to be charting half it up however you want. Deni and Shelly, you are incharge of the Activities we have Bocce Ball, arts and crafts, and Dominoes. Heather and Jenna, you are doing the decorations for the fourth, mail, birthdays, and dinning."

"Ms. Debbie, there is one more thing to cover," Shelly stated, "What about Margarita Mondays?"

"We can have it at my house at 7:30," I replied, "I have mix I need to use up anyway."

"I'll stop by and get ice." Mandy added

"I'll get snacks," Shelly offered.

"I've got the extra blender," Ms. Debbie stated. Everyone agreed and herded themselves to the time clock to start the day.

By 10:30 I was two and a half hours into charting. We had managed to catch up on a lot of stuff so I thought I would stretch my legs. I dont know how but I ended up at Billy Black's door. I knocked and cracked it open.

"Come on in, Grace!" he joyfully sounded.

"Hey Billy, I just thought I would check on you," I staed as I walked through the door. Billy was in his wheel chair wearing some blue flannel pants and a plain white shirt. His hair was. combed and braided neatly down his back.

"Come in and sit with me for a few," He said as he motioned and patted the foot of his bed. Billy asked how I was doing and if there was anything new going on. I hesitated to talk about Paul, so I told him about what I was doing and what I had going through out the day. We enjoyed our time together, I learned that he would be leaving that coming Thursday. They had planned a big party for his home coming.

"I know you will be coming to the bon fire in a few weeks but it would be nice if you could come this weekend too. They might even be some fireworks." he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Wow Billy, you sure know the way to a woman's heart, food and pyrotechnics," I answered. He laughed at my dead pan expression, bit I quickly agreed to go. It wouldn't be a big deal because I was off that Friday because of the holiday. I could pack up and go after work. find a hotel sleep it off and come home. Plus it ment more time with Paul. I could deal with that. The day drug on after that I got everything could up on my end and was helping Mandy with some of her's. at 5 o'clock I punched out and headed for home to get stuff ready. As I pulled into my drive my phone started to vibrate. It was Paul. I quickly slid my finger across the phone,

"Hey handsome," I chimed as I grabbed my purse and headed to my front door.

"You sound energetic, did you have a good day?" his voice rumbled.

"It was okay." I said flatly. "Billy told me he was coming home on Thursday." I opened my door and walked inside my house.

"He is," Paul laughed," We are having a party for the old man. Do you want to come and be my plus one?"

"I have plans already," I lied.

"Oh, okay," Paul sulked, "What have you got going on?"

"Well, this guy asked me to a party that day so," I egged on.

"Wait, what guy," Paul exclaimed, "I can set him straight, your my girl."

I started to laugh uncontrolably over the phone.

"Calm down tough guy, Billy already asked me to come," I could hear the anger ebb from Paul's voice.

"Well, good I dont have to beat anyone up, so are you going?" I could hear the hope in his voice.

"I am I plan on leaving right after work and since its a long weekend I thought I would find a motel and stay the night," I explained. Paul sat silently one the phone for a moment.

"You could stay at my house," he said slowly. Butterflies and excitment built up in my stomach.

"I wouldn't want to touble you," I said as I started to pick at my fingers.

"I want you to stay with me," Paul repeated with a smoldering heat to his voice.

"Okay, I'll stay with you," I answered shyly. We talked for a few more minutes then Paul wistfully said he had to go and do some things on the reservation. I sighed not wanting this call to end but admitted I had to go to. After we hung upI hurried around the house and changed. i was used to wearing long sleeves to work but not that I was home I was free. I put on some tight athletic shorts and a bralett with a loose tank top. I walked into the bathroom to look at my reflection. I was a curvy size 9 and all of 5'2. My hair was straight and a natual pale blonde, and my eyes where deep blue. My arms and legs were covered in black and gray tattoes. I felt sometimes like I was too different people. There was work me, she looked every part of wholesome goodness that you would take home to your momma. The other me was a tattoo poster pin up girl. I fixed my septum piecing to hang out my nose again and took one last look at my self. Suddenly a knock at the door brought me back and I rush to greet my friends.

Margarita Monday was going great. Ms. Debbie dropped off the blender and apologized for not being able to stay. I told her it was alright there was always next time. By 8:30 we were feeling good and by 9:30 we were winding down. Jenna, who was expecting, was the DD so she took all the girls home. I staggered to my room and started to get ready for bed, leaving on the bralett and my underwear, and fell into bed. I felt a lonely ache in my chest so I picked up my phone and took a selfie and sent it to Paul with the caption, "I want you here." I giggled a bit thinking how clever I was. I hadn't been that drunk in a while and I forgot how it made me feel. Soon I was fast a sleep; the text and Paul was quickly forgotten.


	4. Chapter 4: Playing with Fire

My head was pounding as I reached for the tylenol in the drawer of my nightstand. It was 5:30 in the morning and my phone was yelling at me to get up, but my swimming head had other plans. I didn't quite get to the headache medicine fast enough before I found myself throwing up in my garbage can next to the bed. I slowly crawled out of bed, trash can in hand, and made my way to the bath room. This had to be the worst hang over in my life. I got sick one more time before I cleaned myself up and walked to the kitchen. I stumbled and bumped around the counter and cabinets making coffee when I heard the call of my phone again. After pressing the button on my coffee maker, I shuffled back to the room to turn off my phone. As I dismissed the alarm I caught site of the text that Paul had sent me back from the night before. With shaking hands I grabbed the phone and pulled up the message. I caught sight of my photo I had sent and inwardly cringed. Scrolling down I expected the text from Paul to include the words 'ummmm... thanks?'. Instead, I read a reply that for a moment brought my mind into focus.

"You just don't know how beautiful you are. Talk to you tonight, have a great day. "

I stood in silence for a moment. I had never been treated like this before. The last guy I was with took enjoyment in making my life a living hell. Things were starting to feel different with Paul. It was hard to explain, but even when I talked to him I felt so comfortable and...safe. I smiled to myself as I trotted off to the bathroom to get ready. My hangover was still looming over me, however it had faded with the thought of this new guy whom I was sure I was falling for.

My day went on in an uneventful fashion. I was getting use to my routine of visiting Billy in his room or taking him to the covered porch to talk. Even though I had an hour for lunch it still didn't seem like enough. I loved to here Billy's light hearted voice talk about his daughters and son. They all lived in other places but Jake, his son, was always around the reservation with his wife. Other times we talked about tribal life and what some of the guys did on the reservation. I knew Paul was like some type of Police officer or something. He had told me that he and several of his friends worked to keep the community safe from any threats that may pop up.

That day as we sat enjoying the refreshing breeze. Billy looked over at me with a serious expression I had not seen before.

"Grace, I want you to know that Paul really does genuinely care for you." I watched as his eyes darted back to the road infront of us. "He has had a tough life, which I won't go into. He has made a lot of foulish decisions, but Paul does have a good heart." I looked away from Billy and stared at my hands in my lap. We were the only two outside today and as I rung my hands I made the decision to confide in this man who was slowly becoming a father figure to me.

"Billy," I mumbled, "honestly, I'm scared," my eyes never left my hands and at that moment I was a small child again confessing to some wrong doing I thought I had done.

"Four years ago I was with a guy, a guy I thought loved me..." my voice hesitated as my hand moved to grasp right under my left rib. "I knew better, but chose to ignore the signs and then it got really bad." I looked up to see Billy glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "One night he came home from being out with his friends. I just asked where he had been and not even in an angry way. In truth, I had worried about him." I sneered at my own comments. "That was the night I almost died," I shamefully confessed. Billy stayed quiet, until I met his eyes,

"I know you won't tell Paul." I sighed, "I just want to move on with my life at this point. I really like Paul, but Im afraid I am going to let my past hold me back." Billy gave me a crooked smile his eyes bubbling with wisdom.

"Grace, you're are not the product of your past. Just give Paul a chance you might be surprised how easy it can be."

My lips pulled up into a grin at Billy's comment. We decided it was time to head back in so I rolled Billy to his room and said some quick good byes. After my shift was over I walked out to my car and turned over the starter. I took a minute to look at my phone, which had several missed robo calls and a few other notifications. After I was satisfied I put it down and drove home. As per usual it was lightly raining as I pulled into my drive way. My shoes splashed in a few puddles as I ran to my door. Once inside, I dropped my purse and keys on my entry way table and proceeded to the kitchen to make some dinner. It was beginning to feel like a frozen dinner kind of night as I pulled a box from my frig. I read all the instructions and quickly preheated the oven. The oven's timer went off after a few minutes and I placed the food on the rack to cook. I pulled my phone out of one of the many scrub pockets I had and laid it on the counter top. After a few minutes I popped the food in the oven, grabbed up my phone and walked to my bathroom. I drew myself a bath and sunk down into the hot water. I was trying to relax from the day I had when my phone lit up. Instantly, I flew to it and swipped my wet finger across the screen. I put it on speaker and listened as Paul's voice began to echo in my bathroom.

"Hey gorgeous, how was work today?" he asked. I laid my head back on a folded up towel, and sighed,

"It was okay, but I don't think I'm going to be drinking for a while. I usually don't do stuff like that anyway, but I guess last night I wanted to cut loose." Paul's warm laughter filled the room,

"Its okay," he stated, " I wouldn't have got that nice picture of you if you had been sober." Blood rushed to my cheeks as I thought about my hasty decision.

"You'll have to show me all your tattooes sometime." Paul said lowly. I heard the hint of lust in his voice and I couldnt help the things it did to me.

"I'll show them to you, one day," I said as I paused for a moment, "soon."

"What time is your lunch tomorrow?" Paul asked, the wanton ring was still in his voice, but I knew this question was more a distraction.

"12:00," I answered. My stomach was in knots and the heat was rising in my viens as I thought about our soon to be date.

"Good, I'm going to pick you up. You have an hour, right?" he asked in confirmation.

"Yeah, I have an hour to waste. Where are we going, or can I ask that?" I pryed. Paul's voice hummed for a moment as he decided to spill the beans or not.

"That is still a secret." He finally relented, "We will know for sure after tomorrow if I will scare you away or not," he joked. I giggled a bit and closed my eyes.

"I highly doubt you will scare me away. It would have to be stalker bad to make me run for the hills." I stated.

"So, ex, the balloons and mariachi band?" Paul jest.

"Probably," I laughed.

Our converstaion turned toward the weekend and our plans. I was going to drive straight from work and Paul was going to give me directions to his house. We skirted around the sleeping arangements out of embarrassment on my part. Paul promised, however, that he would have dinner ready by the time I had arrived and maybe a funny movie to watch. I grew more antsy for the weekend to come and more excited about seeing his face the next day. I knew this was going too fast. I was going to get burnt one way or the other. After a few more minutes and another timer sounding that my dinner was ready, I regretfully ended my call with Paul. I trugded through my evening and gratfully went to bed early. My only problem was my constant thoughts about Paul.


End file.
